If so, it might be time to start thinking about one. Often, product user assistance is the last thing on a Product or Development Manager's mind. You're trying to get a release out in time to capture your market before your competitor does, and the tech writer is working on the online help files that describe how to use the product interface. As far as you know, everything is going fine.
When the release date comes, you'll have a completed software product and a pile of user documentation to go with it. But is that what your users need? How do you know you've provided the right level of assistance. Do all of your customers need the same level of technical information, or do you have multiple audiences each with different user assistance needs? Do you use a waterfall development process, or do you use the Agile process to develop the software? What type of media do your users respond to the best? Printed documents? Online Help? Desktop videos? Classroom training?
These are some of the questions that need to be answered before moving ahead with development. Thoughtful consideration of your customers' needs and a thorough review of available user assistance technologies, all in the context of your company's business model, can help you develop the optimum level of technical assistance in a form that customers can easiliy consume and that will reduce the number of calls to Customer Support.
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